Barnstaple Bus Station is set to reopen this summer with a new café and toilets.

Work on a new and improved layout for the station is under way, bringing the building up to date and providing a safer and more comfortable visitor experience. 

A new café, Barnstaple Bus Station Café and Takeaway, will operate out of the building, offering refreshments including fresh sandwiches and pastries.

Toilets will be available for the public during the cafés opening hours.

The council has worked with RGP Architects to devise the improved layout for the station building. Works are being carried out by Grills Renovations and Refurbishments.

Work is expected to take two months, and the building will reopen in July.

Leader of North Devon Council, Councillor Ian Roome, says: "I am delighted that we will soon be able to reopen the Barnstaple Bus Station building. I am pleased this will be run by a local business and wish them every success going forward. The new café, waiting area and toilets will provide a welcoming environment for those coming in and out of Barnstaple by bus.

"The previous layout of the station building made it a target for misuse and anti-social behaviour, and it has taken time to find the right scheme to address those concerns. We are so pleased that work is under way and we will have a building that bus station visitors can use safely. Officers have been working hard to get this project up and running for many months and it’s nice to see their hard work coming to fruition."

Barnstaple Bus Station Café and Takeaway manager, Dan Brierley, says: "Myself and my wife Lucy are really excited to be involved with the reopening of Barnstaple Bus Station with our family-run café and takeaway. We will be offering a range of hot and cold refreshments and we can't wait to meet our new customers.

"The station is a hub which is valuable to the community, and we look forward to offering a place people can enjoy and relax in before their next journey."

Together with North Devon Council’s capital funding, the project is being part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is a central pillar of the Levelling Up agenda.